FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT PROCEEDINGS - PAGE 4

She once lived in a palatial oceanfront estate on Palm Beach's "Billionaires' Row." But South Florida socialite Linda Gosman's next home could be a federal penitentiary. On Friday, federal prosecutors filed 16 felony charges against the wife of bankrupt health care magnate Abraham Gosman, accusing her of mortgage fraud, illegal bank transactions and hiding expensive possessions from her husband's creditors. According to the indictment, Gosman, 59, owed $66 million in her husband's bankruptcy proceedings.

Members of the Florida Legislature recognized the need for a "shield law" for journalists. Both the House and Senate by large majorities have passed legislation that under certain circumstances would allow journalists to protect the confidentiality of their sources, notes and recordings. Gov. Lawton Chiles now needs to endorse the measure by affixing his signature to it. The measure would become law after seven days even if the governor doesn't sign it. Chiles' signature, however, would add the prestige of the state's chief executive to the legislation.

Commissioner Mike Rubinstein, the target of a lawsuit seeking his removal from office, will remain a commissioner while the legal proceedings continue. On Monday, Broward Circuit Judge Leonard Stafford denied an emergency request from losing candidate Leo Engel to remove Rubinstein from office. Engel says in a lawsuit that Rubinstein did not live in the district 180 days before filing his candidacy as required by the city's charter. Monday's decision means Rubinstein will serve while Stafford considers the suit.

A test vote on the tax-cut, unemployment insurance deal cut with Republicans by President Obama is scheduled for 3 p.m. today in the Senate. If passed, it would go to the House, where it faces more opposition. The legislation could then be modified and sent back to the Senate or House Democrats could concede that it is the best deal Democrats can get, as argued by former President Clinton on Friday. See the options as laid out by The Hill, which covers the Washington, D.C., political scene: The Hill Watch the proceedings on CSPAN.

A Pompano Beach towing company has agreed to pay a $2,500 penalty for violating Broward County`s towing ordinance. Cousins Wrecker Service charged a man $230 to tow his car in July when the fee should have been $85, said Stanley Kaufman, head of the county Consumer Affairs Division. Kaufman also said the person who told Cousins to tow the car from private property was not authorized to do so. The county ordinance says that only a property owner or the owner`s registered representative can authorize a towing.

The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday suspended the license of a North Miami Beach attorney for 10 days for charging an excessive fee -- $10,000 for four or five hours of work. Milton E. Grusmark, with offices at 13899 Biscayne Blvd., had charged the money for work involving a bond hearing to get two defendants out of jail. Grusmark`s suspension, which takes effect on June 12, will not be lifted until he has repaid $3,000 of his $5,000 fee to one defendant. The court did not order Grusmark to refund any of the second $5,000 fee because of problems in the original Florida Bar proceedings, but ruled that the amount Grusmark charged was "a serious impropriety warranting serious discipline."

Haywood T. Howard, who agreed to retire as assistant principal at John F. Kennedy Middle School after the district discovered he had pleaded guilty to felony tax evasion in 1994, now wants to keep his job. In a June 6 letter to Palm Beach County Schools Superintendent Joan Kowal, Howard's attorney says Howard decided to resign when district officials told him at an April 23 School Board meeting that he would be fired. "However, after review of the facts and circumstances . . . it is clear that no individual had the authority to make such statements," attorney James R. Merola wrote.

On Dec. 1, I watched some of the House Judiciary Committee's impeachment proceedings on television. I happened to catch the section where the two women, who had both been convicted of perjury, were being interviewed. I read some of the excerpts of their testimony in your Internet edition the next day. I guess that the point of their testimony was to convince people that perjury happens and when people get caught they get punished and that "because a president is not a king, he or she must abide by the same laws as the rest of us."

POMPANO BEACH -- There will be no mini-park built on Cypress Creek and Southwest 15th Street now that city officials have withdrawn condemnation proceedings and decided to do without it. The city has been negotiating to buy the property from owner Beverly Chefan for more than two years, but gave up last week when a third appraisal valued the property a lot higher than city officials were willing to pay, economic development coordinator Bob Cameron said....

SUNRISE -- The City Council Tuesday night voted unanimouslyto drop impeachment proceedings against Mayor Larry Hoffman, saying the procedure would be time-consuming and expensive. James Brady, the council`s attorney, said the impeachment procedure and litigation that would most likely follow could cost Sunrise taxpayers $75,000 and take at least 1 1/2 years to resolve. Brady said that other actions against Hoffman could make the impeachment proceedings moot: -- The council on Tuesday approved a letter asking Gov. Bob Martinez to suspend Hoffman based on assertions that the mayor violated the state ethics code.